The book takes a twist on the murders of the Clutter family so famously recounted in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. What if there was a third person involved?
Were Perry Smith and Richard Hickock responsible to the murder of the Walker family in Sarasota, FL? And what if there was a second confession from Hickock indicating a third person?
Taking all of these possibilities in to account, Masterman weaves a narrative that there was a second secret hidden confession and a third person.
An interesting premise based on the possible connection of Smith and Hickock and the murders of the Walker family. The two were in Florida at the time and there were similarities.
As for the novel itself, I didn't feel much connection to the characters of Brigid Quinn and her husband Carlos. The book has relatively slow pace with some build up of tension, but ultimately, this is not a series I would pursue.
Read in March. Blog review scheduled for May 29.
NetGalley/St. Martin's Press
Crime. June 4, 2019. Print length: 320 pages.
I don't mind the slow pace if I feel some connection to the characters. I'm not sure about this one although the premise sounds a bit intriguing.
ReplyDeleteThe premise is interesting, and maybe if I'd read previous books, I would have cared more about the characters.
DeleteOoh, just thinking about In Cold Blood gives me shivers. Interesting premise for sure. I guess it isn't unusual for fictional takes on real life unsolved murders (The Black Dahlia and Jack the Ripper come immediately to mind).
ReplyDeleteA lot of novels go back to real life cases, don't they? The Ripper must win the price for all sorts of fictional versions, and I just finished one using that idea by John Matthews. It is the first in a new series with a New York detective Joseph Argenti and British pathologist Finley Jameson.
DeleteI have been haunted by those murders ever since I was a kid on family vacation with my parents and we read about the murders in the newspaper while driving through Kansas. It's what started my fascination with Truman Capote - and ultimately his intimate connection to Harper Lee, etc. - and In Cold Blood is one of those books that really changed me, I think. And maybe not for the better,
ReplyDeleteNot many books truly frighten me, but I remember how frightening that one was.
DeleteIt's never good when you don't connect with the main characters.
ReplyDeleteIt is certainly a creepy story because the Clutter murders were so dreadful, and the idea of a third person being involved just ups the creep factor. Nevertheless, I couldn't get too concerned about the main characters. Oh, except maybe Brigid's niece who probably deserves a plot of her own!
DeleteI've enjoyed the other three books in this series, so I'm really looking forward to this one.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that I haven't read the previous books may have a lot to do with why I didn't connect with the characters. Also, the author concentrated a great deal on the question about the possible connection between the Clutter family murders and the Walker family murders--leaving less time for Brigid and Carlos.
DeleteI like the premise — but yeah not connecting to the main characters is a sign i think. The name Brigid Quinn is very familiar — i think i might’ve tried a book in this series and never finished.
ReplyDeleteThe premise does provide some interesting possibilities. Efforts to connect Smith and Hickok to the Walker murders through DNA proved inconclusive.
DeleteThe premise is interesting enough, but it's too bad the book wasn't compelling enough for you to want to read the rest of the series.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't for me, but you know how that goes! :)
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